“40 Years a Prisoner” is not as much an indictment on Philadelphia policing as it is a love letter and a plea for humanity.
Philadelphia police targeted the Black radical group, MOVE, for several years before a devastating attack in 1985. Ultimately police officials launched an attack on the group’s headquarters, which resulted in the deaths of 11 members.
The documentary film reconstructs the MOVE organization’s creation, its surviving members’ arrests, and filmmaker Africa Jr.’s 40-year fight to get his MOVE parents released from custody.
Africa Jr. and filmmaker Tommy Oliver join rolling out to discuss the documentary’s timeline and why it’s not an indictment of Philadelphia officials, but a plea to do better.
“40 Years a Prisoner” premieres Dec. 8 on HBO and HBO Max.
